Dancing House

The Dancing House or Dancing Building or Ginger & Fred (Tančící dům) is the nickname given to the Nationale-Nederlanden building in downtown Prague, Czech Republic at Rašínovo nábřeží 80, 120 00 Praha 2. It was designed by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić in co-operation with Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry on a vacant riverfront plot (where the previous building had been destroyed during the Bombing of Prague in 1945). The building was designed in 1992 and completed in 1996. The very non-traditional design was controversial at the time. Czech president Václav Havel, who lived for decades next to the site, had supported it, hoping that the building would become a center of cultural activity. Originally named Fred and Ginger (after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers – the house resembles a pair of dancers) the house stands out among the Baroque, Gothic and Art Nouveau buildings for which Prague is famous. Others have nicknamed it "Drunk House". On the roof is a French restaurant with views of the city. The building's other tenants include several multinational firms.